Drivers fume at 12-second green light

Altering the traffic light sequence at a key central London junction was meant to ease congestion and help pedestrians. But a new "calming" scheme has left drivers fuming.

Vehicles on Bloomsbury Street next to the British Museum have only 12 seconds to cross the junction with Great Russell Street into Shaftesbury Avenue, leading to queues of 200 metres. The changes - authorised by Mayor Ken Livingstone's Transport for London - have turned a busy central route into an all-day traffic jam.

Drivers take five minutes to move from the back of the queue in southbound, one-way Bloomsbury Street where it crosses Great Russell Street. On the east side of the junction, traffic crawls for 100 metres past the British Museum in Great Russell Street. Meanwhile, tourists and office workers walking on the street enjoy up to 20 seconds of crossing time.

The new timings are aimed at meeting the Mayor's pledge to "redress the balance" towards pedestrians and public transport. The green light span at the junction is almost the lowest in London with many lights giving drivers up to 40 seconds to move each time, according to Transport for London.

The overall cycle at the junction is split into green light phases of 12 seconds for Bloomsbury Street traffic; 20 seconds when only pedestrians can move in four directions; 10 seconds when vehicles go straight along the much quieter Great Russell Street from the west side of the junction or move from the east side of the junction into Bloomsbury Street turning south; followed by a second pedestrian-favoured sequence of 20 seconds. Times of each green light varies slightly depending on the time of day and traffic.

TfL says the move is one of several measures intended to slow traffic approaching Trafalgar Square which is being part-pedestrianised. But people in the area are furious. Alan Day, a retired LSE professor living in Gower Mews, says roads south of the British Museum are almost impassable. He said: "You rarely see many cars getting across in each light change despite having three lanes. There are delays for southbound traffic of about five to seven minutes at the worst times of day. Bus drivers are becoming aggressive and are starting to go through red lights and use their size to intimidate other drivers to get over."

Frits Potgieter, front office manager at The Marlborough Hotel, said: "We are getting more complaints from guests about traffic noise and drivers hooting their horns." Some industry experts have claimed Mr Livingstone is working on "secret" plans to deter motorists driving into central London by "rigging" traffic lights. Longer intervals for pedestrians will put off drivers and so prevent gridlock in inner London when congestion charging begins next year, it is claimed.

A TfL spokesman said: "We have altered a number of traffic lights to control traffic flows for the Trafalgar Square project and to benefit pedestrians. The aim is to make central London more accessible and enjoyable."

Motor groups and road users insist such measures rarely benefit enough pedestrians to justify the higher congestion. Paul Watters, the AA's head of roads policy, said: "Traffic calming should only be carried out if there are accidents or a speed problem."